#egyptian wooden boat model

[ltwilliammowett]

A large Egyptian gesso-painted wood model boat. Middle Kingdom, circa 2133-1797 B.C.

The sailing boat manned by ten sailors arranged in two parallel rows, with a further crew member facing forward and helmsman in the curved stern with a rudder, with a linen sail, the hull painted red, 130cm long. Boats were an integral part of everyday Egyptian life and mythology and as such were considered necessary for the afterlife. Two model boats were usually provided for each tomb, one showing the crew sailing south with the prevailing wind and the other the crew rowing north to allow the deceased to see the whole world of Egypt in both directions, but it also stands for the life and afterlife.. Both papyrus and wooden boats were recreated as models and represent the diversity of Egyptian boats.

[egypt-museum]

The Beni Hasan boat

Middle Kingdom, 11th Dynasty, c. 1990 BC. Now in the Hull Museums and Galleries. KINCM:1989.6 HERM

This Ancient Egyptian model boat is almost 4000 years old! It comes from an 11th Dynasty in the Middle Kingdom shaft tomb at Beni Hasan in central Egypt. The tomb belonged to an official called Ja’Y or Tjay – described on his coffin as a Steward or “Controller of the Household”.

The wooden boat is around 88 cm long. It features eight oarsmen (now missing their oars) and a helmsman facing them with a steering oar. Images of the model in the tomb show that originally there was a standing figure at the prow – in the position now taken by one of the seated oarsmen.

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[allaboutmodelships]

10 Amazing Facts About Ship Models: How to Build, Collect, and Display Them

Ship models are fascinating for many people, from hobbyists to experts. They show the beauty and diversity of ships from different times and places. They also reveal the skill and artistry of the model makers. If you love ship models or want to start your own collection, here are 10 amazing facts and tips about these miniature wonders.

A Rich History

Ship modeling has a rich history dating back thousands of years. Ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians and Greeks, crafted scale models of boats and ships for religious rituals, burial practices, and naval warfare simulations.

Precision Craftsmanship

Building ship models requires precision craftsmanship and attention to detail. Skilled model makers meticulously study historical blueprints, photographs, and archival records to ensure accuracy in every aspect of the vessel's design.

Materials Matter

Ship models can be constructed from a variety of materials, including wood, plastic, metal, and even paper. Traditional wooden models offer a classic appeal, while modern materials like resin and fiberglass provide durability and versatility.

Scale and Size

Ship models come in various scales, ranging from tiny desktop displays to museum-quality replicas spanning several feet in length. Common scales include 1:48, 1:72, and 1:100, with larger scales allowing for greater detail and realism.

Types of Models

Ship models can be categorized into three main types: static display models, radio-controlled (RC) models, and sailing models. Static display models are typically built for decorative purposes, while RC and sailing models are designed for active use on the water.

Collecting Treasures

Ship model collecting is a popular hobby worldwide, with enthusiasts seeking out rare and unique pieces to add to their collections. Collectors often focus on specific themes or periods, such as naval history, maritime exploration, or famous ships and vessels.

Preserving the Past

Ship models play a vital role in preserving maritime heritage and history. Museums, maritime institutions, and private collectors alike cherish these miniature replicas as valuable artifacts that offer insights into naval architecture, engineering, and design.

Displaying with Style

Proper display is essential for showcasing ship models effectively. Display cases, shelves, and dedicated cabinets offer protection from dust and damage while allowing enthusiasts to admire their collections from all angles.

Building Your Own

For those with a passion for hands-on craftsmanship, building ship models from scratch or from kits can be a rewarding and fulfilling hobby. Beginners can start with simple kits and gradually progress to more complex projects as their skills improve.

Embracing Innovation

Advancements in technology has revolutionized ship modeling. 3D ship models, created using computer-aided design (CAD) software and cutting-edge 3D printing technology, offer unprecedented levels of accuracy and detail.

Ship modeling is more than a hobby, it’s a way to learn, create, and admire the beauty and diversity of ships throughout history. As you enjoy this rewarding activity, you may want to check out the products of Premier Ship Models, a company that specializes in making realistic and stunning 3D ship models. Whether you're just starting out or have a large collection, you'll find something that will spark your interest and love for the ocean and its vessels. 

[aic-african]

Model of a River Boat, Ancient Egyptian, -2046, Art Institute of Chicago: Arts of Africa

In the Middle Kingdom, tomb paintings and statues were often supplemented with wooden models. This boat is fully equipped with a crew, oars, and a mast. It was thought that the model could provide the soul of the deceased not only with routine transportation, but also with the ability to make the pilgrimage to the sacred city of Abydos in southern Egypt, the cult center of the god Osiris. Gift of Henry H. Getty, Charles L. Hutchinson, Robert H. Fleming, and Norman W. Harris Size: 63.5 × 114.3 × 17.1 cm (25 × 45 × 6 3/4 in.) Medium: Wood and pigment

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/127874/

[egyptologylessons]

Hello Egyptology Lovers, I want to introduce you to the first of many comic strips of “The Tales of Tw𓊕 Scribes”. A comic, primarily about a father (Seti - a scribe) and son (Ramses - a student), which includes their immediate family and supporting characters. The comic tackles ancient egyptian beliefs and cultural nuances. It also incorporates hieroglyphs with the words, to help the reader learn the language. Included In the comics are actually images of daily life (clothing, scenery, tools, etc...can you spot them?) Much of the Imagery is replicated from real artifacts: 1. The Statue of Hapy was discovered at Heracleion 2. The large boat is a replica of a wooden modelled boat. 3. The small boats are replicated from Deir El Bahari This comic is in collaboration with an upcoming artist @murrayjanez (follow her and/or request an art project), and my egyptological knowledge. Enjoy the comic, like, comment and share. “Life, Stabilty, and Health” 𓋹𓊽𓋴 to you All 𓎟. #Egypt #egyptian #ancient #ancientegypt #hieroglyphics #ägypten #thisisegypt #egyptologist #myegypt #egyptianhistory #egyptology #explore #hieroglyphs #madeinegypt #egypte #egyptians #ramses #loveegypt #discoveregypt #egitto #埃及 #مصر #egipto #explorepage #comics #comicstrip #scribe #seti #ramses #imhotep #egyptiancomics https://www.instagram.com/p/CMXc8ZPLOcd/?igshid=1bggb0rgrh2qh

[bm-ancient-art]

Model of a Sailboat, ca. 2008-1630 B.C.E., Brooklyn Museum: Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Wooden model of a sailboat, possibly a kitchen tender, with traces of paint on the deck. The wooden crotch support for the mast is in place, and the rudder is lying on the deck, but the mast, sails, spars and rudderpost are missing. Twelve wooden human figures are on board, eleven males and one female, with painted details of hair, face and clothing. They are of widely varying sizes, styles and woods, and possibly did not all originally belong to this vessel or were hastily assembled. Also lying on the deck are a small oar and a pole. Seven ceramic platters and bowls, three wooden vessels, three wooden sticks with string wrapped around them, and a linen-wrapped cylindrical object burnt at one end. Towards the stern of the boat are the remains of upright wooden slats with holes in the deck for more; probably part of a cabin, now missing. Condition: Both sides of the hull have a horizontal crack running from the middle of the ship to the stern. There is a crack on the forward deck, and the edge of the bow is chipped off. Traces of a black substance are found on both edges of the deck in the rear half of the boat. Almost all of the figures, vessels and parts of the boot have been glued in place in modern times. Photographs of the objects from the NYHS show all of the figures in different positions than at present. All of the figures are in poor condition. With abraded facial features, missing limbs and cracking paint. Eight figures are missing one or both arms, seven are missing one or both feet, and two are missing their legs. Size: 13 × 9 1/4 × 38 3/16 in. (33 × 23.5 × 97 cm) Medium: Wood

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/118025

[dahabiyacruise]

Let’s Not Lose Our Heads About This! - Oct 10/19

My first stop of the day was the Aswan High Dam. While it is just another piece of big infrastructure to the west, to Egyptians it represents independence, industrialization and the emergence of their country as a modern nation. Funding was initially denied by the World Bank (Egyptians blame this on the US acting on behalf of their regional proxy Israel), so Egypt seized the Suez Canal in 1956 in the name of Arab Nationalism and planned to use shipping tolls to help pay for the dam. This led to a French, British and Israeli invasion that looked more like a Monty Python skit, which caused them to be badly mauled by Nasser’s troop and inspired Lester B. Pearson 🇨🇦 to invent UN Peacekeeping. Egypt then turned to the Soviet Union for help. The Soviets, being in the midst of the Cold War, were more than happy to oblige by providing money and expertise in return for mining concessions in the Sinai. Despite all its benefits, the Dam still has problems today, including:

- it is a symbol of injustice to the thousands of Nubians who were displaced without fair compensation;

- the absence of spring floods means that farmers downstream no longer receive free annual deposits of rich topsoil but must buy expensive fertilizer instead; and

- salt and the rich topsoil that use to flow downstream are filling the lake and will likely necessitate very expensive flushing or dredging.

While they were considering adding more turbines to the dam (our friend Julie, the power engineer👷🏻‍♀️, would salivate), this project and all of Egyptian agriculture is threatened by the construction of a huge dam project on the Blu Nile in Ethiopia. When it is completed, large volumes of water may be lost to evaporation and upstream irrigation and Egypt (where it sometimes does not rain for years) could lose much of its only source of fresh water. The whole country could potentially and quite literally, wither on the vine. Achmed seriously discussed his belief/concern that Egypt may go to war, as this is seen as a matter of national survival.

From there, we drove back into Ancient Egypt and to another temple that was moved when the lake was flooded, this time from one island to another. Built in the Greco Roman era, like Edfu and Kom Ombo (note the differing column capitals), Philae is dedicated to Isis, who was wife to Osiris and mother of Horus. When Set killed Osiris and cut him into 14 pieces (or 24, or 40, or 42), Isis resurrected him but she carelessly lost/forgot his head or phallus (something most wife’s would understand and applaud). It was apparently buried on an island in the middle of the Nile, so Ptolemy IV built her temple on an adjoining island. It is unclear whether this was so she could be close to her husband or so she could be constantly reminded of her incompetence. It is a small but well preserved structure except for the many chiseled out figures of the Gods and dozens of Coptic Crosses that are courtesy of the Roman Emperor Constantine and his Christian followers in the 4th Century (zoom in on some of the pictures). While it can only be reached by small boats carrying 2-30 tourists each, it is easily the most crowded site that I have visited so far. There is a constant stream of tour buses arriving at the riverside and masses of tourists being herded about the island like hundreds of Hathors (god with horns and cow ears) on a roundup.

The temple has two sets of the obligatory pylons (gates), a pillared courtyard and a hypostyle hall. This design is repeated so often and so precisely that it now reminds me of all those cookie cutter bungalows in 1950s suburbs. Nevertheless, the agency e, the scale and the beauty of these temples never fails to take my breath away. There are three sanctuaries side by side at the far end, one for each member of the Sacred Family, with Isis in the centre (after all, it’s her temple). Each one would have held a golden statue of the respective god, in a wooden shrine, on-board a model barque so that the God could be carried about for festivals.

Outside the main temple is a huge Chapel dedicated to the Emperor Hadrian where my guide says that he submitted his battle plans to Isis for approval. There is also a partially completed Triumphal Arch dedicated to Emperor Trajan that acted as the entry gate for the main boat landing.

At this point, it was time to say goodbye to Achmed, who had been with me for 6 days almost 24-7. I will miss his good natured demeanour and endless patience but not his regular tests to ensure that I remembered what he had taught me on previous days😊. Then it was back to the boat to begin our journey downstream, back to the north.

[ancientegyptianjewellery]

Objects from Theban Tomb MMA 840ca. 1850–1700 B.C. This group of objects was found in the plundered chamber reached by a shaft in the portico of a rock-cut tomb in the Asasif section of the Theban necropolis. Among the finds were parts of a rectangular wooden coffin with green hieroglyphs on a yellow background as well as a few remains of one or more model wooden boat(s), three scarabs (13.180.8- .10), two anhydrite toilet vessels (13.180.19a- .c, .20) and the group of jewelry items (13.180.1- .18a- .l) striking for the extensive use of silver. Dates that can be ascertained by stylistic comparisons to some of the objects range from the late Middle Kingdom (ca. 1850-1700 B. C.) to the late Second Intermediate Period (ca. 1580-1550 B. C.). A number of clay pots (28.3.239- .241 now in the Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago) from the area of the tomb but not with certainty identified as found inside the shaft and chamber from which the jewelry was obtained date to the late Second Intermediate Period. Object Details Period:Late Middle Kingdom Dynasty:Dynasty 12, late–17 Date:ca. 1850–1700 B.C. Geography:From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Asasif, Tomb MMA 840, pit in portico, MMA excavations, 1912–13 Medium:Electrum, carnelian, amethyst, lapis lazuli, turquoise #egypt #ancientegypt #pharaohs #egyptian#äegypten #egyptology #wondersofegypt#ancient #archeology #middleeast#madeinegypt #hyeroglyphs #jewellery#Egipto #antiguoegipto #faraones#egipcios #egiptologia #antiguedades#arqueologia #jeroglificos #momias#kemet #loveegypt #thisisegypt #myegypt#egyptianhistory #tutankhamon#tutankamon #pectoral https://www.instagram.com/p/B6SQLD_hLlT/?igshid=ajqkwj0ipg43

[whileiamdying]

BIRD HUNT IN THE UNDERWORLD

This fragment of a wall painting, so bright and cheerful in mood, belongs in the solitary seclusion of a tomb. It shows the deceased out hunting. He is swinging a throwing stick in his left hand and holding three birds firmly in his right. He stands on a flat boat of papyrus reeds, reinforced with wooden planks, that is altogether barely bigger than a surfboard. On the prow stands a Nile goose, and behind the deceased his wife; a daughter crouches between his legs. The air and bushes in front of him are full of birds: some appear to have been startled, others are shielding eggs in their nest.

Painted before 1350 BC, Hunting in the Marshes was not a new subject as such. Of the almost 200 examples uncovered to date, however, none offers such a wealth of bird species in such differentiated colours. We know from other wall paintings that a fowling scene of this kind is usually accompanied by a scene of the tomb-owner fishing. In the case of the present fragment, this section no longer survives, but a length of spear can still be seen in the bottom left-hand corner, together with the tail end of the fish that the weapon has trapped.

The Egyptians believed in an existence after death, which was why they strove to preserve the body with their mummification techniques, performed daily rituals in which they supplied statues of the dead with food, and decorated their tombs with scenes from everyday life: lavishly spread tables, leafy vine bowers hung with bunches of grapes, excursions into the marshes and hunting in the papyrus thickets. The hieroglyphs beneath Nebamun’s left shoulder tell us what pictures such as this fragment show, namely the deceased “enjoying himself and seeing beauty instead of a lifetime of eternal repetition”. These scenes from life accompanied the dead and were infused with magical powers so that the deceased might fare as well in eternity as on earth. These powers were far more important than the aesthetic quality of the representation. This was true for all places of worship, for temples as for tombs. If the tomb-owners sit at tables piled high with haunches of beef and roast duck, for example, it is because these painted supplies of food will help ensure that the dead suffer no hunger for all eternity. For this reason, artists and craftsmen muttered charms while working, the knowledge of which was passed — together with manual skills �� from father to son. “I am the lord of mystery”, boasted Iriirusen from the Middle Empire (c. 2040—1785 BC). “I have used all the power of magic” so that the paintings -- created according to the correct conventions might “live.”

The tomb-owner remains forever young

One of the conventions of Ancient Egyptian painting and bas-relief was the representation of the human body from a combination of two angles: the head, torso and legs inside view, the eyes and shoulders from the front. Elements to which the Egyptians attached particular importance were to be clearly visible. Thus, the width of the shoulders, for example, and the symbol of power held by kings in front of the breast, are better appreciated from the front. Striding legs, on the other hand, could not be shown from the front because the Egyptians were unfamiliar with spatial perspective. Individual body parts were painted without depth or modelling, but were laid down as a flat plane in one colour. The renunciation of the third dimension helped Egyptian art to achieve the clarity that we still admire in it today.

Its incisiveness and simplicity are also heightened by its renunciation of individuality. The tomb owner was called Nebamun, but his face betrays nothing of his age or character and doesn’t even register enjoyment of the hunt. The artist does not seek to capture a likeness but depicts only what we might call the core or the essence of the person what remains when everything incidental and transient has been stripped away. The wig plaited into small braids and the wide collar tell us nothing about the personal tastes of the sitter, but were standard dress for men from the upper ranks of the Egyptian social hierarchy. Such men were identified only by their written name and title. Nebamun was a senior official and manager of a royal granary from the 18th Dynasty.

A more detailed representation of a bird hunt, found in a different tomb and dating from the Middle Empire, takes the form of a model boat. Manned by miniature oarsmen and paddlers, it includes men hurling spears tied to ropes (i.e. harpoons), high-ranking figures who are standing idly by, and a young woman stowing away the birds bagged by hunters. Documentary sources indicate that boats were normally bigger than the one Nebamun is standing on and had comfortable cabins for longer trips, as well as storage space for food and drink and the equipment and spoils of the hunt. Hunting in the marshes or in the desert was one of the sporting pursuits of the upper class. It required a degree of training, for example in how to use the throwing stick. These were slightly curved and broadened out at one end, which was often carved into the shape of a snake’s head. In his other hand Nebamun is holding three decoys.

A fertile field for her lord

The wife is smaller than her husband, in line with the traditional pictorial hierarchy. Even if she had been taller in real life, in pictures her scale is reduced. It was social status, not reality, which counted. The royal official and granary manager ranked higher than his spouse and she higher than their daughter, who is holding her father’s shin. These distinctions were valid not only within a family group but also wherever the Pharaoh or leading officials were depicted in the company of persons of lesser importance. It would be wrong to deduce from these relative proportions that strict subordination reigned within the family. A married woman was described as “mistress of the house” and in contrast to other Ancient societies, in which they were treated as minors and had to be represented in legal proceedings by a male relative, Egyptian women (at least in the New Empire from c. 1550 to 1075 BC) could go to court themselves. But that was probably just one side of the picture. The advice offered by Ptahhotep the sage (c. 2300 BC) to a married man is likely to be closer to the everyday reality of women’s lives: “Fill her stomach and clothe her back, for she is a fertile field for her lord. Do not contend with her in a court of justice but keep her from power and restrain her.”

The high official’s wife is festively attired: it is thus that the deceased should remember her and thus that she should accompany him into eternity. She wears a pleated dress with wide sleeves, through which the contours of her slender body can be seen. All women in tomb paintings have ideal figures. She is holding lotus blossoms in her arms and a scented cone sits on top of her head. Made of perfumed animal fat, the cone was worn on top of the wig on social occasions, causing the hair to shine and smell sweetly as it melted. Wigs were worn by both men and women of the upper class. Her hair was considered one of a woman’s most important attractions, even if it was not her own. “He found me alone,” says the heroine of a fairy tale of her admirer. “He said: ‘Come, let us spend a while together. Let us go to bed, put on your wig.’“

Perfumes also played a major role in the perception of the Egyptians, and it is likely that people several thousand years ago could differentiate between scents to a greater degree than we can today. The proximity of the gods was signalled by a particular odour, called the “sweat of God”. The hieroglyph for “joy” is a nose, and Ptahhotep the sage also advised the husband to provide his wife with perfumed ointments “as the remedy for her limbs” and thereby “gladden her heart as long as you live”.

The depiction of married couples was characterized not only by their different sizes according to importance but also by their arrangement. The wife stands or walks behind the husband, as remains the custom in many regions of the Middle East and Africa even today. In adherence with another traditional convention of art, the wife has her feet close together as a sign of reticence while the husband strides out with energy and power.

The cat as assistant hunter

Holding birds in its and one in its teeth, the cat — like the people — has been idealized by the artist and portrayed as particularly handsome, large and clever. Whether it is retrieving the animals brought down by the throwing stick or hunting for itself is impossible to say. Cats were popular companions on the hunt and in the home, where cats with brown and yellow stripes were preferred. One such Libyan wild cat is found in another tomb, painted lying under its master’s chair and eating a fish. Gathered beneath the throne of a queen are three of her pets — a little monkey and a cat embracing a goose. Nebamun is also accompanied by a goose as well as a cat.

A cat coffin elaborately decorated with reliefs has found in Memphis, the Ancient capital: furnished with the usual protective female deities and spells, it resembles the sarcophagus of a small person. The mummified animal that lay inside was called Tamiat and belonged to Akhenaten’s elder brother, who died before he could ascend to the throne. In a relief on one of the outer walls, the cat Tamiat is seated at a table bearing food all eternity.

The above examples date from the New Empire and are few in comparison to the Late Period, from which vast numbers of mummified bulls, dogs. birds and cats have come down to us. These vestiges of ancient animal cults also extend to magnificent statues of cats, in which the Egyptian feel for elegant line seems to have found a particularly welcome subject. The majority of these statues are cast in bronze and many are richly decorated, as in the bronze figure of a seated cat in the British Museum in London, which has gold rings in its nose and ears together with a wide ornamental collar and an eye amulet in front of its chest.

The proliferation in animal cults arose out of the belief that animals were embodiments of gods or at least possessed divine powers. Herodotus, the Greek, who travelled through Egypt in around 450 BC, wrote that the animals “in the country, whether domesticated or otherwise, are all regarded as sacred. If I were to explain why they are consecrated to the several gods, I should be led to speak of religious matters, which I particularly shrink from mentioning.”

The goddess whom the Egyptians imagined as a cat was called Bastet. In the Old Kingdom (c. 2660—2190 BC) she had the shape of a lion, then she became a cat, then the lion goddess and cat goddess were combined. The Egyptian gods changed their attributes repeatedly over the course of the centuries and even embodied different powers from city to city, with the result that many of them appear to possess contradictory characteristics. This did not bother the Egyptians, for whom the true shape of a god remained an eternal mystery, independent of such metamorphoses. The cat goddess was held to be merry and boisterous, and feasts held in her honour were celebrated with copious amounts of alcohol, at least in the Late Period. She nevertheless retained something of the lion goddess, who embodied courage and the eagerness to fight and hunt. As a wild, frisky huntress, Nebamun’s favourite cat accompanies her eternally young master.

The swamp as a mythical setting

Nebamun’s tomb lay in the Theban Necropolis on the west bank of the Nile. The dead were almost always laid to rest to the west of cities, where the solar bark — the boat carrying the sun god — slipped below the horizon at nightfall, having risen in the east and travelled across the sky during the day. In the underworld, on the primordial waters of Nun, it sails back to the east. It was the hope of the living to be able to join the bark of the gods after their death and to ascend with it back to the light. According to one theory, our pictorial motif is an encoded representation of precisely this journey by the dead: the hunt for fish in the water corresponds to the nocturnal passage across Nun, while the birds fluttering upwards embody the ascent into the heavens.

But our frequently painted subject also evokes associations of a quite different sort. These are connected with the behaviour of the Nile. Before the embankment dams were built, the Egyptians watched the waters rise every year and inundate large areas of the fertile countryside. The land was swallowed up and only reappeared once the great flood was over. This natural phenomenon reminded the Egyptians of the myth of the creation of the earth, which arose as something entirely new out of a material like the silt on the riverbank. Hence the thicket on the shore assumed a mythical aura of fertility and reproduction for the Egyptians, who made the lotus plant that grew in the swamp their symbol. The lotus flower closes at night and opens again in the morning. The marshes play a role in one of the legends of the gods. When Seth savagely tore Osiris to pieces, Isis — Osiris’s wife — gathered up the dismembered parts of his body, fled to the marshes of the delta and used her magical powers to bring her dead husband back to life so he could impregnate her. She raised her son Horus in the shelter of the marshes until he was old enough to take up the struggle against his father’s murderer.

Alongside the ascent into the heavens in the company of the birds, the Egyptians also associated the shores of the Nile with the idea of renewal. It is for this reason that the painter has made the bird’s eggs so prominent, and that the tomb-owner is accompanied by his wife and child — his wife dressed in her best clothes, unsuitable for a hunt but appropriate as a celebration of eternal regeneration. And all three carry lotus plants. The tomb-owner carries them draped over his shoulder, the wife has them in her hand and on her wig, and the daughter is pulling a bunch out of the water.

The thicket could also be an out-of-the-way setting for erotic encounters, as implied by one anonymous poet: “My beloved, so that I may be alone with you I have come bird-catching, my snare in one hand, my net and my throwing stick in the other.” In tomb paintings such things remain unspoken, not least because the spells cast by the painter meant the figures might come alive.

In Nebamun’s day, only his family and friends had the opportunity to enjoy the wall-paintings executed by the anonymous artist. The scenes that were to accompany the deceased were painted inside the tomb-chapel, which was only opened on feast days and for ritual purposes. As the centuries passed, the tombs were forgotten, and their entrances became blocked. Only tomb robbers attempted to break in. The British Museum is today home to eleven fragments from the tomb of Nebamun, which were broken off the walls in a crude and careless manner. We owe the preservation of their delicate colours to the fact that they remained in the dark for millennia.

Bibliography

Hagen, R. M., & Hagen, R. (2019). What Great Paintings say: 100 Masterpieces in Detail. Cologne, Germany: Taschen.

[egyptology-misr]

Model with a Fishing Boats This two groups of fishermen can be seen here in boats made from papyrus. Between the two boats they hold a large net with wooden floaters is filled with fish and is stretched between the two boats. The two men on each boat are rowing, six men are holding the net, while a further man is laying out the fish they have caught on the deck of one of the boats. Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, ca. 1981-1975 BC. From the Tomb of Meketre (TT280), Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, West Thebes. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 46715 #egyptology_misr #Egypte #Agypten #Egipt #Egipto #Egitto #Египет #مصر #मिस्र #エジプト #埃及 #Egypten #Visit_Egypt #discover_Egypt #Experience_Egypt #diving  #socialmedia #egypt #iloveegypt #luxor #karnak #mylifesamovie #mylifesatravelmovie #travelblog #travelblogger #solotravel #wanderlust #gopro #egyptology #ancientegypt (at Egyptian Museum) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5zyQ_elv0C/?igshid=rn9hbmu0jczu

[paradisevocations-blog]

Nile River

The Nile River has unquestionably assumed a basic part ever. Well known as the longest waterway on the planet, the stream got its name from the Greek word Neilos, which implies valley. The Nile surges the grounds in Egypt, deserting dark residue. That is the reason the old Egyptians named the stream Ar, which means dark.

"A land won by the Egyptians and given them by the Nile." - Greek student of history Herodotus (around 500 B.C.)

The account of the Nile River starts not in the rich seaside tidal ponds of its Mediterranean mouth, nor at its headwaters high in the cloud woods of Rwanda, however in the Western Desert of Egypt.

Here, there is no Nile. There is no water. It is a Martian scene, inhabitable aside from a couple of scattered desert springs. It is a Saharan play area for tidy tempests and beetles, where scoop snouted reptiles move on two feet to maintain a strategic distance from the singing sands of noontime.

This is Egypt without the Nile.

Little ponder, at that point, that the Ancient Egyptians prized and revered the Nile River. It was their umbilical line. Indeed, even today, a typical Egyptian gift is: "May you generally drink from the Nile." From its cooling waters came roost angle greater than the angler. From its loamy riverbanks came mud utilized for blocks and papyrus for books and pontoons.

Consistently, when the Nile River overwhelmed and soaked the dry land in water and nurturing residue, the Egyptian ranchers expressed gratitude toward the god Hapy and started their schedule once more.

The Nile River

A Satellite View of the Nile River

Were you to catch a ride a ride on a satellite, you could see the Nile River completely. For very nearly 4,250 miles the While Nile winds through nine nations, from the Delta district of Lower Egypt the distance to Lake Victoria, the greatest of the African Great Lakes.

The Blue Nile starts at Lake Tana, Ethiopia, and joins the White Nile south of Egypt in Khartoum, Sudan. Together, they make up the longest waterway on the planet, the blue string that ties Africa.

When you consider Ancient Egypt, you most likely envision the Great Sphinx and the limestone pyramids of the Giza Plateau. You picture the transcending pillars of Memphis and the ochre arches of Cairo. These urban areas were the operational hub of Ancient Egypt. They lay only 20 miles South of where the Nile cuts into the many channels and trenches of the rich Nile Delta.

The Nile River as observed from the satellite

© NASA - Satellite perspective of the Nile River

The fan-molded Delta is level as a hotcake and green as a leprechaun. At its most remote achieves sat the immense port city of Alexandria, home to the beacon Pharos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Past the Nile Delta is only the salt arrangement of the Mediterranean and past that, Europe.

At the inverse end of Egypt, where the Nile snakes into the nation, was the entryway city of the nation: Aswan. It was little, hot, an army town for the Egyptian armed forces.

Exchange and Transportation on the Nile River

You may be enticed to overlook the squat structures of boondocks Aswan, referred to in Ancient Egypt as Swenett. You may concentrate on the more noteworthy mainstays of Cairo and the sanctuaries of Giza – however there would be no pyramids and no places of worship without Aswan and the Nile River.

Dhow on The Nile River close Aswan

Dhow on the Nile River close Aswan

Aswan is hot. It gets basically no rain. Ever. Daytime temperatures drift more than 100 degrees a half year out of twelve. The main wellspring of water is the Nile, not as much as a large portion of a mile in width. Be that as it may, Ancient Egypt considered Aswan imperative for its exceptional stone, a stone called Syenite.

Unpleasant cut squares were etched from crude stone, stacked onto freight boats, and dispatched down the serene Nile River to the lobbies of the god-ruler pharaohs. Amid surge season, this excursion would take around two weeks, for there was not a solitary waterfall to defer the outing. Amid the dry season, a similar outing would take around two months. Boats would return bearing payload and men, their sails stuffed by northern exchange winds.

The Nile River was Ancient Egypt's interstate. There were no semi-trucks, no Amazon Prime 1-day shipping offers. There was just water. No scaffolds spread over the Nile's bigness in antiquated circumstances. No one but water crafts could furrow the surface and skim over the channel measuring 20-40 feet profound.

Around 4,000 B.C., the Ancient Egyptians initially lashed groups of papyrus stalks together to make pontoons. Afterward, skilled workers figured out how to fabricate wooden boats utilizing nearby acacia wood. Some of these water crafts could convey payload up to 500 tons. That is as much as 125 elephants! Where vessels could no go over leave sands, Egyptians rode camels starting with one shrouded storage then onto the next.

Widely varied vegetation of the Riverbanks

Creatures

Obviously, most Egyptians infrequently observed the Nile from its inside. The rancher of the Middle Kingdom would have remained at the water's edge and looked crosswise over two miles of shiny blue. In the late spring, those two miles may extend to five or ten. Exuberant spring downpours in Ethiopia and sub-Saharan Africa would make the Egyptian Nile flood its banks for 4-6 months, immersing the encompassing surge plain in dark sediment.

The Nile River plain was a reasonable living condition for an assortment of creatures.

The two biggest herbivores are the hippopotamus and dark rhinoceroses, both of which are presently nearing elimination. Blue herons and white ibis fowls investigate the shallow waters for little fish, eels and snakes. The Nile River contains more than 30 types of snakes, and the greater part are venomous. Not to no end did Cleopatra, the considerable Queen of Egypt, pass on from the nibble of an asp.

This yearly flooding cycle allured water-adoring creatures of land and water, reptiles and winged animals to come abide in the Nile. The most widely recognized reptile is the Nile crocodile, a grayish brute that grows up to 1,500 pounds. It waylays clueless gazelles and little warm blooded animals who come to nourish at the riverbanks.

Nile Crocodile Facts - The Nile Crocodile has been a noteworthy part of the Egyptian culture and lifestyle since the main Egyptians settled along the fruitful banks of the Nile. Most Nile Crocodiles are around 4 meters long, albeit some have been accounted for as longer.

They make their homes along the banks of the Nile River, where the female may lay up to 60 eggs at one time. Around three months after the fact the infants are conceived and are taken to the water by their mom. They will stay with her for no less than two years previously achieving development.

Cultivating and Food

Albeit Ancient Egyptians depended on angle for creature protein, they acquired the greater part of their nourishment from the earth. The rich topsoil of the Nile bowl can make the grade regarding 70 feet profound. It is a rancher's perfect world. After Ahket, the period of Inundation, towns planted the primary seeds.

Amid Peret, the developing season, which endured October-February, ranchers tended their fields. Shemu was the period of reap and plenitude. They would either convey water by hand, by camel, or would burrow water system waterways from the Nile River to water the rich dark kemet of the fields.

Agriculturists developed all way of yields: scarcely for lager, cotton for garments, melons and pomegranates and figs for a night dinner. Be that as it may, three yields emerged: wheat, flax, and papyrus. Wheat was ground into bread, flax was spun into cloth, and papyrus dried into a paper substitute.

Otherworldly existence and World View

The Nile River, for all its significance to the Ancient Egyptian, had no god. It didn't have a name. Most basically called it "the waterway," or "aur," which implies dark. The nearest thing to a divine being doled out to the Nile was Hapy, the lord of the Inundation. Hapy had no sanctuary. He was a fat, cheerful god lauded toward the start of each surge cycle and said just in passing whatever is left of the year.

However despite the fact that the Nile did not have a focal influence in Ancient Egyptian deep sense of being, it was the focal point of their social world view They arranged themselves in reference toward the south, from whence the stream came. The east bank, where the sun rose, was the side of birth. The west bank, where the sun set, was the side of death. All Ancient Egyptian tombs and pyramids were developed on the west side of the Nile.

To Egyptians, flooding was ordinary; rain was irregular. They called the deluges of different societies "the Inundation in the sky". Their 365-day logbook rose and fell with the waters of the Nile. Truth be told, a poor man was symbolized as having no pontoon. Also, when a Pharaoh was buried, a little vessel or model of a watercraft would be covered with him so he may "go to the opposite side", that the frosty waters of the Nile would bear him, the image of Egypt, in death as they had in life.

To what extent is the Nile River?

The Nile River is really 6695 kilometers (4184 miles) in length. With such a long length, the Nile River is guessed to be the longest stream on the planet.

It twists from Uganda to Ethiopia, moving through an aggregate of nine nations. While the Nile River is frequently connected with Egypt, it really touches Ethiopia, Zaire, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Sudan, and in addition Egypt.

It's just later that the primary known route group effectively took after the stream from starting to its end.

How did the old Egyptians utilize the Nile River?

The Nile River has assumed a critical part in the human progress, life and history of the Egyptian country.

A standout amongst the most surely understood stream Nile certainties is the waterway's capacity to create greatly ripe soil, which made it simple for urban areas and civic establishments to jump up nearby the banks of the Nile.

The fruitful soil is made by the yearly spring surges, when the Nile River floods onto the banks.

A great part of the Egyptian country comprises of dry forsake arrive. All through the majority of the year, almost no rain falls on Egyptian deserts. This has stayed valid for a large number of years. The bottomless Nile River gave truly necessary water system, even in antiquated circumstances.

This conduit likewise gave a wellspring of drinking w

[tamboradventure]

10 Offbeat Things to Do in Istanbul

Updated: 10/28/2019 | October 28th, 2019

Istanbul is home to some famous historical sites — the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar, and Spice Market. They are stunning, important historical sites to see and experience. But the city also offers lots of fun things to do that have fewer crowds and are a bit off the beaten path.

As important as it is to visit culturally significant historical sites (after all, there’s nothing wrong with being a tourist) there is so much more to every destination than just the main tourist bullet points.

Of course, you shouldn’t miss Istanbul’s major sites. But once you’ve done them, there are plenty of offbeat things to see and do here. Here are my favorites to help you get started and make the most out of your trip:

1. Descend into the Basilica Cistern

Most travelers walk on top of this ancient cavern for days without realizing it. After entering an unassuming doorway you’ll climb down a gloomy set of stairs, ending up in an underground former water reservoir built in the sixth century. It’s filled with centuries-old columns and statues and the space is eerily lit in shades of orange. Koi fish swim in the standing water, and you have to walk on wooden planks to get around. You can hear drips echoing, and there are two mysterious statues with the head of Medusa. It kind of feels like you’re in a scary movie.

Alemdar, Yerebatan Cd. 1/3, +90 212-512-1570 yerebatansarnici.com. Open daily from 9am-5:30pm (except religious holidays). Admission is 20 TRY for foreigners.

2. Explore the Asian Side

Istanbul is the only city in the world to straddle two continents; it spans from Europe to Asia. The Asian side (also called the Anatolian side) is separated from the European side by the Bosphorus Strait. You can take a bus over the famous Bosphorus Bridge, or you can ride over on a ferry. The city’s main tourist sites are on the European side, but if you’ve never been to Asia, it’s fun to cross over so you can say you’ve been there. If you’re interested in shopping, check out the popular markets in Kadiköy.

Other worthy activities include touring the Beylerbeyi Palace, riding up to the top of Çamlica Hill for incredible views of the city, and strolling along Bagdat Caddesi to explore the many restaurants, cafés, and shops.

The ferry will cost 3 TRY for a one-way ticket.

3. Visit a Real Hammam

(Picture not available—everyone was naked inside!) Many of the swanky hotels in Istanbul have hammams, otherwise known as Turkish baths, but they usually aren’t the real deal. They’re made for Westerners looking for a cushy and modest experience. Real hammams have been a Turkish tradition for thousands of years, and they have served as both a place to cleanse and to socialize. Most hammams are separated by gender, and women generally go topless. You transition through several different rooms of different temperatures, one being a hot steam room much like a sauna. You can opt to pay an attendant to give you a thorough scrub-down — it’s rough but invigorating! Çemberlitai Hamami is a good option for visitors looking to give the experience a try; another popular one is Cagaloglu. Both are located in the Old Town.

Vezirhan Cad. No. 8, +90 552-381-1584, cemberlitashamami.com. Open daily from 6am-12am. Admission starts at 160 TRY per person and goes up from there depending on what treatments/services you want.

4. Go to the Prince Islands

This chain of nine islands off the coast of Istanbul provides a unique getaway from the crowds. An easy day trip during the warm months, the islands are just a quick ferry ride from the city. Most travelers visit the four larger islands (Büyükada, the biggest and most popular, Burgazada, Heybeliada, and Kinaliada). You can explore historic buildings, eat at tasty cafés, and see beautiful homes as you wander about.

What makes these islands special is that no cars are allowed on the islands, making them quite peaceful and quiet and a nice break from the noise of the city. You can get around by walking, bicycle, or horse and carriage.

Try to take one of the early ferries in the day so you explore the islands before our visitors arrive.

The journey by ferry will take around 1 hour and 30 minutes depending on what island you are going to. Tickets are 5 TRY per person for a single journey ticket.

5. Take a Ferry

A great way to explore this massive city is by boat. You’ll see many boats that offer paid tours of the Bosphorus, but if you want to save money and have more flexibility, take a regular ferry ride instead. The fare will be cheaper, and you won’t be competing for space with other tourists trying to take photos.

You’ll pass by Topkapi Palace, the Bosphorus Bridge, gorgeous mansions, mosques with massive minarets, other castles and palaces, and more. You can hop off, eat some fresh seafood, and then head back. It’s a budget-friendly way to explore without bumping into other tourists.

Round-trip ferry tickets will cost 25 TRY per person.

6. Explore Jewish History

While Turkey is predominantly a Muslim country, it has a surprisingly long Jewish history. There are Jewish heritage tours you can take, or you can explore the stops on your own. Jews have lived in Turkey for thousands of years, but the population really grew during the Ottoman Empire in the 1400s. Growth increased in 1492 when Spain expelled its Jews and the Ottoman Empire welcomed them as they were stereotyped as having good business skills and wealth.

Istanbul’s Galata and Balat quarters are steeped in Jewish history and you can find historic synagogues in both areas of town. Istanbul also has a Jewish museum (The Museum of Turkish Jews) that does a good job of illustrating the contributions and struggles of Jews in Turkey.

Bereketzade Mahallesi, +90 212-292-6333, muze500.com. Open Sunday-Thursday from 10am-5pm and Fridays from 10am-1pm (closed Saturdays). Admission is free, though donations are encouraged. Passport (or other official ID) is required to enter.

7. Watch the Fishermen on Galata Bridge

Every day, dozens, if not hundreds, of local men form a row along the top level of the Galata Bridge and fish over the edge. It’s an incredible sight. They spend hours hoping to catch fresh seafood, and some of them will sell it to you while they’re still out there fishing. Many of the men don’t even make a catch; they seem to enjoy just standing there hanging their pole over the water.

There’s also a fish market at the base of the bridge, and the many booths of fresh-caught fish are fun to look at (though it can also be a bit gross).

8. See the Obelisk of Theodosius

This Egyptian obelisk was carved around 1500 BCE near Luxor before it was pillaged by the Romans and moved to Alexandria. Not long after, it was moved to Constantinople (now Istanbul) where it has remained ever since. There are well-preserved hieroglyphs on all four sides which depict Tutmoses III’s victory during a battle on the Euphrates River.

The obelisk is usually surrounded by locals relaxing and chatting, and there are often buskers performing here as well. It’s a good place to sit back and people-watch while appreciating this incredible historical relic.

9. Snap a Photo with Tombili

Chances are you already know you Tombili is — you just don’t realize it. Tombili was a street cat from Istanbul who went viral in a meme that showed the cat lounging on the stairs like a person would sit on a bench (the meme was called “chill cat” if you want to look it up).

When Tombili died in 2016, the local mayor had a statue commissioned and it now sits where Tombili’s famous photo was taken. Thieves immediately stole the statue but, after a huge public outcry, it was returned.

10. Visit Miniaturk

Miniaturk is a miniature park located in Istanbul — and it’s one of the largest miniature parks in the world. To be honest, I didn’t even know what miniature parks were before encountering this place. In short, the park is full of small replicas of famous sights and attractions, made to a 1/25 scale. There are over 100 models in the park including the Obelisk of Theodosius, the Mostar Bridge, and the Hagia Eirene Church. The park spans almost 15 acres and there are audio guides available around the park so you can listen and learn more about each individual attraction.

Örnektepe, +90 212-222-2882, miniaturk.com.tr. Open daily from 9am-6pm. Admission is 15 TRY.

*** Istanbul is a very large and crowded city and it can definitely be intimidating to visit. But it’s also home to some fascinating history and tons of unique sights and attractions — many of which don’t get the attention they deserve.

By adding some of these less-visited attractions into your itinerary you’ll be able to have a much more unique and authentic experience while still being able to see all the wonderful sights that make Istanbul the eclectic, beautiful city that it is.

Book Your Trip to Istanbul: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation To find the best budget accommodation, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the most comprehensive inventory. Some of the best places to stay in Istanbul are:

Cheers Hostel – This hostel is consistently rated as one of the best in the country. It’s safe, clean, and has free Wi-Fi and free breakfast.

Sultans Inn – This hostel is in a great location, it’s clean, and the staff are friendly and helpful.

Agora Hostel and Guesthouse – This laid back hostel has a great free breakfast, free Wi-Fi, and a relaxing tooftop terrace where you can take in the views of the city.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Photo credit: 4 – NKCPhoto, 8 – Erik Cleves Kristensen,9 – Nevit,

The post 10 Offbeat Things to Do in Istanbul appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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[theboatgalley2-blog]

What Types of Wooden Model Boats Are There?

Being made to scale, these models of ancient boats and ships give a clue of the size of the original. Some of the best The Boat Galley models are perhaps from the Egyptian shipping fleet. That is perhaps because these Egyptian ships were of superior quality and also more decorative. It is assumed that these models of boats and ships could have been used as toys also.

Even as late as the 18th century almost all European small craft was built without formal plans. The Boat Galley and ship models were handcrafted and they were then scaled to assume the original size. In those days, the models were first made and then following the pattern and dimensions of the models, the ships and boats were made.

There were also Admiralty models and these were scaled versions of the proposed warships. The deck, mast, spars and general configuration were crafted intricately. These models would find interest among people who have an interest in history, wars and sea battles.

During the Napoleonic wars, French and English seamen who had been taken prisoners began to handcraft models of boats and ships to relieve their boredom. They usually crafted models of ships and boats that they were familiar with. So most often what they turned out was of warships.

It was in the 19th and 20th centuries that model kits for boats and ships began to hit the market. Offering a wide variety of choice, these kits were soon very popular. Ship and boat modeling soon began to make significant advances with the introduction of newer and more innovative tools. More and more people began to take this up as a hobby because now it was easier to handle and also not complicated any more info visit The Boat Galley.

[ed-smike]

Mummy of the Week again!

This week we’re looking at Thutmose IV. His life was short, but his afterlife was fairly eventful - he was moved out of his tomb to keep him safe from robbers, he was discovered by archaeologists, and he became one of the first ever mummies to have an x-ray!

This episode is a bit silly and turns into a creative writing exercise in parts, imagining what Thutmose’s ghost would think to all the stuff that happens to him.

Name: Thutmose IV. Sometimes Thutmosis or Djhutmose. Age: late twenties. Dynasty/ approximate dates if known: reigned from 1398 - 1388 BCE, so he was probably born around 1415 BCE or thereabouts. 18th Dynasty, New Kingdom. Where found: KV35. Current location: the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, Cairo.

Thutmose had a lovely tomb on the other side of the Valley of the Kings. This is KV43; it provides stunning views, and has plenty of chambers and fully functioning stairs. He resided here with at least two of his children, Amenemhat and Tentamun, only occasionally being bothered by tomb robbers, until he had to be moved by the priests in the 21st Dynasty and ended up in KV35. KV35 belongs to Thutmose's dad, Amenhotep II, and Thutmose soon settled in with plenty of other royal mummies, including his own son Amenhotep III.

Life was quiet in KV35. Thutmose had modelled his own tomb on the layout: a dog-leg-shaped tomb, descending into the rock, with a main burial chamber with six pillars, and some steps leading down to the sarcophagus, and four side chambers. Thutmose would probably have wanted to be back in his own cosy sarcophagus rather than just having to make do with a wooden coffin on the bare stone floor, but it was much safer here.

Several centuries passed, and the royal mummies inside heard a noise at the entrance. Presently, a light appeared, followed by two gentlemen; one of these was Victor Loret, who was the director-general of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, who was tracking down tombs in the Valley, and the other was the expedition’s reis, who organised the workforce and ensured that the proceedings ran with little trouble. There was a gasp from the antechamber - Loret and the reis had found the Body on the Boat, grinning at them. Presently, they crept through the corridor into the main chamber, and gazed upon the pillars and the elegantly painted walls and the starry ceiling. They crossed the debris-strewn chamber gingerly, making sure that they did not break even the smallest fragment under their feet, and were delighted when they peeped into the sarcophagus and found none other than Amenhotep II at rest. Most pleased with this royal discovery, Loret and the reis soon turned their attention to the side chambers, and peered inside with great reverence. In one, they found three unwrapped bodies one of whom is eventually revealed to be Queen Tiye, and they were most intrigued by a doorway blocked with limestone slabs; there was a small gap in the upper right hand corner, which Loret poked his head into, and looked upon nine coffins. One of these contained Thutmose.

The mummies were escorted aboard a ship unlike any that they had ever seen but, just as they were wondering how it worked without oars or sails, a message arrived from Cairo. The Minister of Public Works, Sir William Garstin, ordered that the mummies should be returned to the tomb, and that KV35 should be sealed; this decision had been made in acknowledgement of the opinion of the Egyptian public that the ancient kings should not be disturbed, so the mummies were taken out of their crates and put back into the tomb. Not long afterwards, once Loret had been dismissed from his post as director-general (apparently for offending quite a lot of people) Gaston Maspero took back his position, which he had left in 1886, and set about having KV35 reopened and taking the nine mummies from the side chamber to Giza. Thutmose was among them, and was most interested to learn that they were being removed because Maspero said they were not among the tomb’s original inhabitants, and so might not object to finding a new home in the Antiquities Museum.

Thutmose and his eight friends from his chamber embarked on a great adventure. On the way, Thutmose caught a glimpse of the pyramids, and may have felt compelled to tell his travelling companions all about that time when he was still a prince and he was out in the desert and, feeling tired, sought a decent place to have a nap. He settled beneath the Sphinx,  which, at that point, had been buried up to its neck in sand, and had a very peculiar dream in which the Sphinx came to life and told him that it would be much obliged if he would dig it out of the sand. Indeed, the Sphinx would be so pleased with him that it would make him King. So when he awoke, Thutmose arranged for the Sphinx to be released, and lo! He became King. The other ghosts sighed. They have heard it a thousand times.

After some time at the Museum, and a few unwrappings, the Egyptologists decided that they need to x-ray one of the royal mummies. They chose Thutmose, and there was a discussion of where the x-ray machine was. Thutmose was alarmed to hear that it was on the other side of Cairo, but he was most intrigued to learn that he would be taken on another adventure, this time involving a mysterious vehicle known as a "cab". In the middle of the night, the anatomist Grafton Elliot Smith and the archaeologist Howard Carter gently carried the mortal remains of Thutmose IV out to a waiting vehicle. Thutmose thought it looked like a peculiar chariot. Horse-drawn, yes, but very peculiar all the same. The two learned gentlemen sat inside it and put the mummy across their laps, and they off they went. Thutmose was aggrieved to find that the ride was somewhat bouncier than anticipated, and spent much of it in great terror that his body might fall off the gentlemen’s laps and be injured in some way. After this ordeal, they arrived at a building that Thutmose’s guardians called a nursing home. “It’s got the only x-ray apparatus in Egypt!” said one of them as they carried the mummy inside. Thutmose didn’t know what one of these was, but he was quite astonished to find that it could look inside him and take pictures of his bones. Dr. Khayat operated the machine, and, after much conversation regarding the marvels of modern science that Thutmose did not entirely understand, the king was taken back to his home in the museum.

Click here to learn more about Thutmose! Scroll up to see some of his friends from KV35. (Warning: more photographs of mummies.)

Click here to learn more about Thutmose’s reign! This page also contains a list of his names (pharaohs like having lots of names), details about his known wives and offspring, information about his tomb KV43, and this rather good drawing of the Dream Stela that he put up between the Sphinx’s paws.

Click here to see a head from a statue of Thutmose in Bristol Museum!

[aic-african]

Model of a River Boat, Ancient Egyptian, -2046, Art Institute of Chicago: Arts of Africa

In the Middle Kingdom, tomb paintings and statues were often supplemented with wooden models. This boat is fully equipped with a crew, oars, and a mast. It was thought that the model could provide the soul of the deceased not only with routine transportation, but also with the ability to make the pilgrimage to the sacred city of Abydos in southern Egypt, the cult center of the god Osiris. Gift of Henry H. Getty, Charles L. Hutchinson, Robert H. Fleming, and Norman W. Harris Size: 63.5 × 114.3 × 17.1 cm (25 × 45 × 6 3/4 in.) Medium: Wood and pigment

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/127874/

[eyesonworldcultures]

Museums for People Who Hate Museums

Museum of Old Art and New - Hobart, Tasmania

Quirky, unusual, strange. All these words are used to describe the MONA. But here's one more for the list -- FUN. Everything about this museum is fascinating. Its collection is incredibly varied, with modern, contemporary, and antiquities. Housed in an underground labyrinth, the museum's entrance is located in an old tennis court. The moment you enter you instantly plunge into a world of stimulating art. It's a far cry from the stuffy art museums you were dragged to as a kid. 

The Museum of Broken Relationships - Zagreb, Croatia and Los Angeles

If you know the pain of having your heart ripped out and stomped on, then you'll love this museum. Originally conceived in Croatia, with a second location in Los Angeles, the Museum of Broken Relationships is for everyone who has felt love's cruel sting. The exhibits include donated personal objects from former lovers, often accompanied with a story about the failed relationship. The displays range from heartbreaking to hilarious, and will entertain and delight even the biggest cynic.

Vasa Museum - Stockholm, Sweden

A massive wooden warship might not seem like most people's first choice for housing a museum, but Sweden has never done things by the book. The Vasa Museum displays an almost fully intact 17th-century ship, which sunk in 1628 and has since been salvaged. The museum was built around the ship, which stands on a dry dock. Tour the ship and the accompanying exhibits that detail its history, for an engaging and awe-inspiring experience. 

The Design Museum - London, England

London's Design Museum covers the whole wide world of design, from industrial, to graphic, to fashion and architectural design. The museum celebrates the visual, with exhibitions displaying everything from an old Model T Ford to Vogue Magazine covers to interior design layouts. 

Museo Atlántico - Lanzarote, Canary Islands

Meet Europe's only underwater museum. Off the coast of Coloradas Bay on the Canary Islands' Lanzarote, the Museo Atlántico is not easy to access. But if you strap on your scuba gear or step aboard a glass-bottomed boat, you can explore a magical underwater world populated by over 300 sculptures on the bottom of the ocean. The art installation is the work of artist and diver Jason de Caires Taylor, and is made of materials that help stimulate the local ecosystem.

ArtScience Museum - Singapore

Located in the heart of Singapore, and resembling a giant lotus flower, the ArtScience Museum'sexterior is a marvel to behold. Once inside, you can encounter a rotating selection of art and science exhibitions from around the world. There's plenty to do and see in the 21 gallery spaces, and one visit might introduce you to everything from a history of the Silk Road to Andy Warhol's most vibrant paintings to Egyptian mummies.